UK ‘the third most prepared nation for retirement’

The role of auto-enrolment has helped the UK become the third most adequately prepared nation for retirement in the world, according to research.

Analysis conducted on behalf of Scottish Widows ranked the design of pension systems in 32 countries in a tournament-style ‘Pensions World Cup'.

Out of these countries, England was ranked the third best prepared for retirement, owing largely to the success of auto-enrolment since its rollout in 2012.

The highest-ranking country overall was Australia, which has had an auto-enrolment system in place since 1992.

Each country's ranking was based on 10 categories, including contribution rates, the proportion of over-65s receiving a pension, population growth statistics and international economic competitiveness.

According to these rankings, 5 best-performing pension systems were:

Australia

Denmark

England

Sweden

France.

Robert Cochran, retirement expert at Scottish Widows, said:

"There's a great deal we can learn from how others are preparing for retirement.

"Our winner Australia, for example, has had an auto-enrolment policy for 25 years - a journey the UK is currently only 6 years into.

"It takes time for these policies to have their desired effect but the impact is clear: today, Australians are among the best funded for retirement in the world."